The Principal
Spiritual Traditions of Buddhism

As Buddhsim spread through Asia, the teachings came to be interpreted
in different ways, and distinct practices became associated with the
different "schools" that evolved. Although the schools found
today do reflect unique beliefs and practices, they all share
the fundamental teachings of the Buddha as outlined in the Fundamentals
section of DharmaNet's Learning Center.

It is common to see the Buddhist traditions presented as three main
"schools" — Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana (Tibetan
Buddhism). Although these categories have a useful purpose, they also
oversimplify the distinctions between traditions and obscure the connections
between all the traditions. With that caveat in mind, we present an
introductiom to Buddhist traditions using this formula.

Understanding the history of the movement of Buddhism will help
you understand how the various traditions evolved as they merged
with the indiginous belief systems Buddhism encountered as it spread.
See the History section of DharmaNet's Learning Center for this story;
here we describe the traditions as they exist today.

Theravada

Theravadan ("Doctrine of the Elders") Buddhism traces its
rooots to the earliest traditions of Buddhism, beginning with the original
Sangha of the Buddha. Today's Theravadan Buddhists consider their tradition
to be the only surviving representative of the earliest schools of
Buddhism.

Theravadan Buddhists accept the earliest collected teachings
of the Buddha, the Pail Canon, as the true authoritative Dharma. (Pali
was a language used during the Buddha's lifetime.) While the suttas
(teachings) of the Pali Canon are accepted as authentic in every branch
of Buddhism, we shall see that other traditions recognize other teachings
as well as authentic.

Theravadan Buddhismh has been the
predominant religion of Sri Lanka
and continental Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Burma/Myanmar and Thailand).
It is also found in parts of southwest China, Vietnam and
Bangladesh, as well as in Malaysia and
Indonesia. Theravadan Buddhism is growing today in Singapore
and in the West.

Theravadans maintain that the ideal Buddhist is the “one who is worthy”
(Sanskrit: arhat; Pali: arahant), the perfected person who attains
nirvana through his own efforts. Although the Theravadan arhat “takes
refuge in the Buddha,” his focus is on the practice of the Buddha's
dhamma. The
role of the monastic and layperson are clearly differentiated
by the Theravadans, with monks who withdraw from the world seen as
those who may become arhants, with laypeople . . .

The contemporary Theravadan monastic tradition includes both Pali
scholarship as well as a meditative practices. In traditional
Asian Theravadan cultures th role oflay Buddhists role is to support
the monastic community which is working toward arahantship. While scholars
may be found in the large monasteries of the Asian Theravadan countries,
meditators often continue the tradition of "forest monks" from the
Buddha's time.

Theravadans profoundly revere the historical Buddha as a perfected
master but do not pay homage to the numerous buddhas and bodhisattvas
that are worshiped in the Mahayana.

Vipassana in the West

in the modern West a new form
of Theravadan lay practice centered on meditation practice has taken
root. Often refered to as Vipassana or insight meditation, this form
of Theravadan practice was brought to the west by Westerners who trained
in Thailand, Burma and India with teachers such as Mahasi Saydaw and
Ajahn Chah. As well, traditional Theravadan monasteries can be found
in most Western countries, serving the Asian communities now living
in the West.

As taught in the West, insight meditation does not teach a system
of beliefs but rather teaches tehniques for
seeing clearly into the nature of the mind. Insight
meditation refers
to practices for the mind that develop calm (samatha) through sustained
attention, and insight (vipassana) through reflection. A fundamental
technique for sustaining attention is focusing awareness on the body;
traditionally, this is practised while sitting or walking. In addition
to practices of mindfulness, loving-kindness meditation
(metta bhavana) is plays an important role in contemporary Theravadan
practice.

For more on
Thervada see the Learning Center's Theravada study pages.

Mahayana

Historically, Mahayana Buddhism has been practiced in the Far East
and in North Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, Tibet and Mongolia.
Today many Mahayana traditions are taking root in the West.

Mahayana refers to a movement that occurred in the first century C.E.,
self-described as the "great vehicle" to distinguish itself from the
Thervadan schools (which they disaparagionly referred to as the "lesser
vehicle" or hinayana.) While there is much debate regarding how different
the two movement really are, we list here a few of the generally agreed
upon distintions (recognizing that each of these is open to interpretation).

Mahayana Buddhists, like Theravadans, recognize
the Pali Canon as sacred scripture, they also recognize many sutras
(sutras in Pali) written later in Sanskrit.

While for Theravadan Buddhists the the ultimate purpose of life
is to strive to become an arhant, an aspiration suitable only to
monks and nuns, Mahayana Buddhists aspire to become boddhisatvas,
saints who have become enlightened but who unselfishly delay nirvana
to help others attain it as well, as the Buddha did.

The
paths for attaining these goals also differ, with Mahayana Buddhists
teaching that enlightenment can be accomplished even by a layperson
and can be attained in a single lifetime. (Different Mahayana schools
teach different paths to the
attaiment of this goal.)

In Mahayana, the supreme practice is that of Bodhicitta, or the
Bodhi Heart.

Some Mahayana traditions tends to be
more religious in nature than Theravadan, practiing ceremonies,
religious rituals, magical rites, veneration
of celestial beings, Buddhas and boddhisatvas, and the use of icons,
images, and other sacred objects. Again such a generalization can
not encompass the Mahayana's range of practices, which range from
Tibetan Tantric Buddhism's elaborate rituals and religious ceremony
to Zen practitioners spare practice orientation and frequent outright
rejection of such elements.

It is worth noting here that although both the Thervadan and Mahayana
assert that their's is the more authentic form of teachings of the
Buddha, they peacefully worked together in the great learning monasteries
such as Nalanda. And today we are beginning to see bridges growing
between the three "schools."

The Mahaya movement of 2000 years ago has led to a wide range of practices,
and the Mahayana traditions of today are known by the traditions that
evolved in places such as Tibet, China and Japan, rather than as "Mahayana."
In DharmaNet's Learning Center you can learn about
several
sects and schools within the Mahayana tradition:

Zen

Zen stresses the prime importance of
the enlightenment experience, which is indefinable, incommunicable,
free from all forms and concepts. The authenticity of the enlightenment
experience can only be tested by an enlightened. The general practice
of Zen is to point directly at one's mind with just a few hint and
force one to become enlightened instantly. From this point of view
it can be seen that the Zen practice depends on no words and emphasizes
no setting up of words and letters.

Zen also teaches the practice of zazen, sitting in meditative absorption
as the shortest but also the steepest way to awakening. Zen meditation
quiets the mind of all conceptual thought so that the
pure nature of the mind as compassionate and endowed with wisdom will
shine forth.

Pure Land traditions

The Pure Land tradition emphasizes recitation of the name of Amitabha,
the Buddha of Infinite Light, as a method for going to his Pure Land
of Happiness, a type of paradise in which everything is conducive
for becoming a Buddha.

Nichiren

Also called New Lotus school, Nicheren Buddhism is based on the Lotus
Sutra, the title of which alone, according to its founder, Nichiren,
contains the essence of the Buddhist teachings. The practice advocated
by Nichiren consists in reciting the formula, "Veneration to the
Sutra of the Lotus of the Good Law" (Jap., Namu myoho renge-kyo).
If this formula of veneration is recited with complete devotion, through
it buddhahood can be realized in an instant.

Vajrayana

Tibetan Buddhism and Vajrayana are oten lumped together
and mistakenly confused. Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Mahayana Buddhism
that developed in Tibet and the Himalayan region beginning
in the 7th century C.E. It combines Mahayana philosophy, meditation,
Tantric symbolic rituals, Theravadan monastic discipline and the shamanism
of the indigenous religion, Bon. Tibetan Buddhism is, then, a form
of Mahayana Buddhism that inorporates the practice of tantra (Vajrayna).

The Vajrayana
or "Diamond Vehicle" (also
referred to as Mantrayana, Tantrayana, Tantric or esoteric Buddhism)
shares many of the basic concepts of Mahayana, but also includes a
vast array of spiritual techniques designed to enhance Buddhist practice.
One component of the Vajrayana is harnessing psycho-physical energy
as a means of developing profoundly powerful states of concentration
and awareness. These profound states are in turn to be used as an efficient
path to Buddhahood. Using these techniques, it is claimed that a practitioner
can achieve Buddhahood in one lifetime.
In addition to the Theravada and Mahayana scriptures, Vajrayana Buddhists
recognise a large body of texts that include the Buddhist Tantras.

In the Tibetan scheme of Buddhism the Vajrayana is the third
and highest of the three "yanas"—Hinayana (roughly
equivelant to Theravada), Mahayana and Vajrayana. However this hierarchy
is not shared by Mahayana Buddhists such as Zen practitioners or by
Theravadan Buddhists.